The Trooper

[onprcntr]

Thank God I have a bad ass band! Ok I know this is not great and I want honest feedback just remember I am human being with feelings. : p

[ronws]

Your singing was good and I thought it was a good performance. With the exception of the harmony backing vocals. They were slight off on the chorus, better on the second chorus, detuned again on the later chorus. But oh well, I know, it's only rock and roll but I like it. I couldn't tell if it was the lead guitarist or the bassist. Your voice is different enough for me to think it was not you that was slightly off on intonation. Quick fix, let the harmony sing an octave below. It will add depth that shows off your voice.

Side note, I thought it was funny that the rest of the band had more light on them than you had. Maybe the lighting guy hates singers. Maybe his girlfriend ran off with a singer. Stranger things have happened.

Definitely keep that one in your set list.

[onprcntr]

Thanks man. I noticed the chorus issue as well. I want to post a couple more we've done since then but I can't get my guitar player to upload em.

[Teodur]

I like the fact that you dropped the song down half step, gives it a heavier sound imo. Overall solid stuff, I wonder if you can sing this in a more heady voice like Bruce. I can't imagine you hitting that E5 (or Eb5 in this case) in "we won't live to fight another DAY" with power otherwise.

Easier solution for the chorus bits - let the audience sing it, it's Iron Maiden man. Seriously, show a bit of showmanship here and there, air guitar some licks during the solo, take the mic of the stand and do something with the other hand like a fist pump here and there to accentuate the lyrics.

Well at least that's what I do. :P

[Keith]

I think your performance of the song was better than the rest of the bands. The bass player played the wrong part in the bridges (except the first one) The guitar solos were good, almost verbatim. AND I know how hard it is to sing in tune against someone singing backing vocals that are not. Great job man. This is a terribly difficult song to sing - the rest of the band had it easy!

[ronws]

I would like to point out to some that there ain't no room for air guitar on that little stage. It's so tiny that if you pass gas, you affect the entire band.

[onprcntr]

There isn't really even a stage just a corner of the bar. I choke when it comes to head voice live. I've won battles but not the war when it comes to that. I think this is mostly because of my debilitating stage fright. I love to sing and I love to see people have a good time but I get really nervous. I was pushing really hard here because I was afraid to back off and let it flow naturally. It sounds very forced to me because it was! I really appreciate the positive words it makes me feel there is hope for me to reach my goals. Singing this with a tight mix voice being one

[ronws]

I just knew, on, because I have performed in similar situations. Approximate room of a large corner table in a restaurant. 6 X 6 stage at an Elk's Lodge on Karaoke night and there was a soft spot in the "stage" that would throw you off balance if you didn't keep to a certain spot.

It's not like having Iron Maiden's stage where you can run the 440 from one end to the other.

[Mr Bounce]

Hey I thought this kicked ass! I was rocking out in my chair! That said I think you need to tell your drummer to hit harder May just be the recording quality, but it sounds as if he's afraid to hurt his kit

I thought your vocal performance was great dude. It's always hard to compare yourself to a singer like Bruce Dickinson and this song is bloody hard with all the words... but this is a a damn good cover and I don't think anyone watching should have not been headbanging!

As for the backup vocals, sure they are a little out but you know that.

Awesome!

[Enander]

First I'd like to point out that I, and many other here, know that nervousness is the bane of precision, so I can totally see where you're coming from ...if you ever doubted. Haha!

The keys to this are pronunciation and stamina!

I see you're american, but it's not really that kind of pronunciation I'm referring to.

What I'm getting at is this:

There are plenty ways of singing an "a"-sound, for example. Some are good, and some are less good, regarding (for a lack of better words) resonance/power. You need to find your sweet spot.

I have by no means mastered The Trooper and therefore lack the credibility to give you advice, so don't hold it against me.

Nonetheless, the way I'm doing it (still practicing this) is that I sing it very, very slowly to give myself a chance to feel/locate where I want the note to take hold, so to speak.

This will also practice your stamina, which was the other key point.